3 Art Exhibition "Exploring Ⅱ - Fragments of Art in Everyday Life -"

Date:
January 23(Thu) − 27(Mon), 2025
Venue:
Spiral Garden (Spiral 1F) (Aoyama, Tokyo)

This program has finished.

View Report
beloved things handiwork routine beyond words
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    • General Information

    This exhibition seeks to broaden the recognition as well as increase the appreciation of contemporary art by comprehensively showcasing the outstanding works of artists with disabilities alongside those of currently active visual artists.

    In a time of uncertainty, shaped by climate change, war, inequality, human rights issues, and the rapidly advancing influence of technology, contemporary artists provide new perspectives on the world and offer wisdom for better living and survival, as conveyed through their works. Even artists with disabilities, for whom it is difficult to fully explain their own experiences, reflect their familiar surroundings and transform their joy and suffering into unique expressions. In today's society, where the accumulation of small issues amplifies into larger-scale problems, it might be said that the essential truths we should be grasping are often hidden close at hand.
    We will explore the power of artistic expression to open new perspectives on the world through the works of 14 artists, regardless of the presence or absence of disabilities. Through four key themes of 'beloved things,' 'handiwork,' 'routine,' and 'beyond words' as elements that live and breathe in our daily lives, we would also like to explore the senses that we find vital in everyday living. This includes touching upon the hidden meanings in seemingly simple handiwork and repetitive daily actions, as well as the small discomforts encountered regularly in social norms.

    Standing before works that, while silent, reveal a resolute will, we allow our imagination to explore why these expressions came into being. This attitude of trying to grasp the unspeakable something that the work emits leads us to the threshold of discovering fragments of art in everyday life. By paying attention to the finer details, a deeper understanding and empathy may arise.

    We hope this exhibition will offer an opportunity for a contemporary audience to reflect on the essence of human expression, transcending the context of disability, as we explore these ideas together.

    Date

    January 23 (Thu)−27 (Mon), 2025

    Hours: 11:00−19:00 (Opening day: 13:00− , Last day: −18:00）

    Venue Spiral Garden (Spiral 1F)
    Admission Free
    • Organizer: Osaka Prefecture
    • Presented by: Association for the Promotion of Contemporary Art in Japan, Capacious
    • Curator: Association for the Promotion of Contemporary Art in Japan
    • Curatorial Advisor: Yukiko Koide Presents
    • Support: Wacoal Art Center
    • Cooperation: Atelier Hiko, Yellow, Gallery Yamaki Fine Arts, Yukiko Koide Presents, Suzukake Art Club & Atelier Suzukake, Nanairo Circus Troupe, Nishimura Gallery, Atelier Yamanami, Atelier Yu, Lumbini Art Museum

    Artists

    • Title Unknown

      Kamitsuchibashi Yuki
      • Title Unknown
      • Title Unknown

      1 / 2

      • Title Unknown

        2021
        Pen on paper
        39.3 × 54.3 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Yamanami

      • Title Unknown

        2020
        Pen on paper
        54.2 × 76.5 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Yamanami

      Kamitsuchibashi Yuki

      Kamitsuchibashi became interested in English and fonts from the age of 3 and started using a computer at the age of 7.

      The works he creates are beautiful examples of decorative lettering (calligraphy). He holds a water-based pigment pen, typically used for drafting, like a fist, and carefully thickens the lines. Other hand-drawn works include designs for small labels, tags, book covers, and DVD package designs. There are also paintings with panel-like compositions similar to manga, where the development of figures and text forms a unique world.
      The sequence of letters starting with "A" seems at first glance like a person's name, but it is neither legible nor a name. Other sequences of letters occasionally include recognizable words like "Hotel" or "Water," but the majority appear to be fictional spellings that do not correspond to any real English words. A sense of uneasy frustration lingers—words that seem readable but aren’t, meanings that feel graspable but remain elusive.
      Recently, Kamitsuchibashi has been using computer software like Word and PowerPoint to create graphic designs. The process is incredibly fast, where he selects a preferred font from many options and then repeatedly copies, pastes, and adjusts the font style over and over. This process is also shared on his video streaming channel.

      Once his design work is complete, he steps away from his desk and spins around like a ballet dancer. Is this a release of energy or a joyful dance, or does it hold an entirely different meaning?

      Kamitsuchibashi's creative work suggests both the potential and limitations of communication through text. At the same time, it appears to explore a connection with a different dimension of time and space, one that has expanded through a digital society shaped by computers and video streaming.

      Biography

      2001 Born in Gifu, Currently based in Shiga
      2020 Began working at Atelier Yamanami, producing artwork five to six days a week, primarily using hand-drawing techniques and a computer.

      Selected Exhibitions

      2023
      How to Walk in a Parallel World: Kamitsuchibashi Yuki and Toya Makoto, Borderless Art Museum NO-MA, Shiga
      2022
      Imagine Letters/Letters Imagine, Kyoto Prefectural Library, Kyoto
      Infinity Art for Everyone: The Universe of Atelier Yamanami, Woodone Museum of Art, Hiroshima
      Atelier Yamanami Exhibition: View from the Mirror The World of Art Brut, NU Chayamachi, Osaka
      Genius:The Human Gift for Creating and Living, Shiga Museum of Art, Shiga
      2021
      about me 5 Body and Soul, Imagine & Design, Osaka
      Imagine Letters/Letters Imagine, Kyoto Prefectural Library, Kyoto

      Reference Website

      http://a-yamanami.jp/artworks/artists/9876/ https://www.youtube.com/@yuukiart1011
    • Vessel-green

      Kobayashi Takanobu
      • Vessel-green
      • Block (yellow & green gray)

      1 / 2

      • Vessel-green

        2019
        Oil on canvas
        38 × 45.5 cm
        © Takanobu Kobayashi Courtesy of Nishimura Gallery

      • Block (yellow & green gray)

        2021
        Oil on canvas
        41.2 × 41.4 cm
        © Takanobu Kobayashi Courtesy of Nishimura Gallery

      Kobayashi Takanobu

      Kobayashi has been creating paintings since the late 1990s, focusing on universal and everyday subjects such as vessels, pillows, and forests, with an emphasis on light. Maintaining a deliberate distance from trends, Kobayashi persistently explores an introspective process, striving for expressions that are both essential and timeless. The works are distinguished by their portrayal of familiar, ordinary objects, rendered through meticulous and unpretentious brushwork. This approach avoids superficial embellishment, instead uncovering the symbolic depth and understated essence of the subjects. Despite the simplicity of these paintings—or perhaps because of it—they possess a rare ability to highlight the extraordinary qualities latent in the familiar. This, in turn, invites viewers to reflect on the profound mystery of existence itself. Kobayashi explains this perspective as follows:

      "I have consistently painted figurative works based on concrete subjects. I have painted a variety of subjects, but regardless of what I depict, my aim is not to portray the objects themselves or the circumstances surrounding them. Instead, I want to use the tangible, visible forms as a starting point to capture an invisible 'something.' I believe that this 'something' might be the very 'existence' of the objects themselves—the fact that they are there."

      On display in this exhibition are works by Kobayashi featuring motifs of 'vessels' and 'pillows,' which are among his signature pieces. His works offer an opportunity to reconsider one’s existence and the connection with everyday surroundings that often go unnoticed.

      Biography

      1960 Born in Tokyo, Currently based in Kanagawa
      1986 Graduated from Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts

      Recent Solo Exhibitions

      2023
      Vessels, Nishimura Gallery, Tokyo
      2022
      Cloud and Shadow, Nishimura Gallery, Tokyo
      Midday, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi
      2019
      Balance, 100 Tonson Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand
      2014
      Kobayashi Takanobu Dream, dreaming us, Yokosuka Museum of Art, Kanagawa

      Recent Group Exhibitions

      2023
      KYURYUDO 100th, ARKESTRA, Tokyo
      GROUND3 Ordinary Painting, ART LAB AICHI, Aichi
      Symbiotic World - 2022 Jinan International Biennale, Jinan Art Museum, Jinan, China
      2022
      Re: FreshersーNew Acquisitions, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, Hyogo
      Sunset/Sunrise, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, Aichi

      Public Collection

      Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art / The National Museum of Art, Osaka / The National Museum of Modern Art,Tokyo / Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo / Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art / and others

      Reference Website

      https://www.takanobu-kobayashi.com/
    • Title deleted

      Shibata Ryuhei
      • Title deleted [Detail]
      • 1992–1997

      1 / 2

      • Title deleted [Detail]

        2015
        Color gel pen, acrylic, resin on canvas
        112.2 × 145.6 × 2.8 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Yu

      • 1992–1997

        2017
        Color gel pen on paper
        45.5 × 53.2 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Yu

      Shibata Ryuhei

      Shibata has an exceptional memory for numbers. For example, he can easily recall the birthdays of celebrities and, when meeting someone for the first time, can instantly determine the day of the week they were born by asking for their birthdate. His work directly reflects his strong interest in numbers.

      Upon closer inspection of his works, one can notice notations such as specific minutes and seconds, as well as dates and days of the week. These notations include details such as the lengths of songs by his favorite idols and the airing times of TV programs he used to watch.
      He quickly taps on a calculator while drawing, but his unique method of calculation remains mysterious. It may be a process of reconfirming what he already knows, a kind of double-check. Shibata also chooses surfaces to draw on that aren't limited to just paper or canvas, but often include packaging materials or scraps from various objects. He used to carry around a notebook, and whenever he had free time, he would quickly tap on a calculator and jot down various numbers that he observed in his surroundings. Since acquiring a smartphone, Shibata has often been seen browsing music sites, particularly focusing on long tracks. This suggests that interacting with numbers continues to bring him comfort and tranquility in his daily life.

      Shibata's work, when viewed up close, resembles intricate decorative patterns, but seen as a whole from a distance, it can appear as a fluid, abstract painting. This suggests that to truly understand the world, one must recognize that there are alternative ways of perceiving it.

      Biography

      1988 Born and lives in Osaka
      2007 Began making his artwork once a week during painting club time at Atelier Yu

      Solo Exhibition

      2019
      Capacious exhibition#11:Ryuhei Shibata Solo Exhibition, Calo Bookshop and Cafe, Osaka

      Selected Group Exhibitions

      2024
      Five Perspectives, Takashimaya Gallery Next, Osaka
      2017
      Art Brut? Outsider Art? Or...? -Inherent Creativity-, Eye of GYRE, Tokyo
      2016
      Project to Discover New Stars in the World of Contemporary Art, Enokojima Art, Culture and Creative Center, Osaka Prefecture [enoco], Osaka (Grand Prize)

      Reference Website

      https://www.capacious.jp/artists/ryuhei-shibata
    • Flowers in a Bottle with Loquats and Grapes

      Shuji Takashi
      • Flowers in a Bottle with Loquats and Grapes
      • Tools, Blocks and Bottles

      1 / 2

      • Flowers in a Bottle with Loquats and Grapes

        2010
        Pastel on watercolor paper
        79 × 54.7 cm
        Courtesy of Suzukake Art Club & Atelier Suzukake

      • Tools, Blocks and Bottles

        2007
        Pastel on watercolor paper
        54.5 × 79 cm
        Courtesy of Suzukake Art Club & Atelier Suzukake (reference artwork)

      Shuji Takashi

      Shuji Takashi, an avid fan of the Hanshin Tigers, once spent time in the studio, meticulously drawing the scoreboard of Koshien Stadium down to the smallest detail. After finishing it, he completely drew over it with a black crayon. He is also known to have painted an image where, except for the blue sky in the background, everything else was a solid block of black squares.

      The subjects of his paintings include potted plants from the shelves of the painting club, empty bottles, pipes, small brushes, and seasonal plants or vegetables brought in by staff members. In a hunched posture over the paper, he leans in closely and meticulously applies colors with pastels. The bold compositions, which sometimes seem to extend beyond the frame, are not arrangements based on the actual placement of objects but rather reconstructed either in his mind or directly on the canvas. The soft ambiance that emanates from his work is the result of a meticulous process. Using pastels and erasers equally, he repeatedly draws and erases until achieving the image that matches his ideal vision, and one can feel the diligent effort put into creating the work.

      The works, reduced to simple silhouettes using a limited palette of colors, suggest a new perspective and reveal the essence of the subject to the viewer. As you engage with the artwork, please take a moment to reflect on the process of perceiving and understanding the subject in its true form.

      Biography

      1974 Born in Hyogo Prefecture, passed away in 2021
      1993 Started painting at the Suzukake Painting Club and began exhibiting works in the 1990s

      Selected Exhibitions

      2024
      Borderless -Margins and Interplay-, Borderless Art Museum NO-MA, Shiga
      Creative Adventures by 45 Japanese Art Brut Creators: Endless iterations of the single glyph “も” and more, Shiga Museum of Arts, Shiga
      2021
      Shuji Takashi Solo Exhibition -Quiet Gaze-, Hyogo Prefectual Museum of Art, Hyogo
      2020
      Open to Surprises, Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Tokyo
      Art As It Is: Expressions from the Obscure, The University Art Museum of Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
      2019
      Thailand and Japan Art Brut -Figure of Unknown Beauty-, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
      2014
      Art Brut Japan Schweiz, Lagerhaus Museum, St.Gallen, Switzerland (Travel to Museum Gugging, Vienna, Austria)
      2012
      Art Brut from Japan, The Dolhuys Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
      2010
      Art Brut Japonais, Halle Saint Pierre, Paris, France
      2008
      Japon, Collection de l'Art Brut, Lausanne, Switerland

      Public Collection

      Collection de l'Art Brut (Switerland) / Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou (France) / Shiga Museum of Art / MOB museum of alternative-art
    • Whale-shark-saurus

      Sogi Kazuaki
      • Whale-shark-saurus
      • Tree-flower-scorpion-gun-robo-saurus

      1 / 2

      • Whale-shark-saurus

        2019
        Colored paper
        25.7 × 37.2 cm
        Courtesy of Nanairo Circus Troupe

      • Tree-flower-scorpion-gun-robo-saurus

        2021
        Colored paper
        21 × 27.5 cm
        Courtesy of Nanairo Circus Troupe

      Sogi Kazuaki

      Sogi regularly attends a workshop in Osaka Prefecture and participates weekly in activities at the Nanairo Circus Troupe in Oji-cho, Nara Prefecture. At the facility, the group typically spends the morning in a nearby forest. While others engage in farming or caring for animals, Sogi is uniquely permitted to wander with a butterfly net, searching for insects. He searches for insects like centipedes, gently captures them with his bare hands, cherishes them, plays with them, and observes them closely. When the time comes to leave, he gently releases them and departs the forest, often spending his days in this manner.

      Sogi began creating paper cut artworks in the fifth grade, and has continued this practice for over 30 years.
      At the facility, he works on his paper cut art whenever he feels inspired, and with focused effort can complete an A4-sized piece in about three to four hours. If a piece is not finished, Sogi sometimes takes it home as a "homework" assignment to complete. The subjects of his works range from insects such as centipedes, scorpions, and bees to weaponry like pistols, missiles, and tanks, as well as dinosaurs, animals, and plants. He constructs these creations directly from his imagination, without any preliminary sketches, and invents fantastical creatures named in the pattern of "XYZ-saurus."

      The spiky shapes that emerge from a single sheet of paper represent a small universe made up of the artist's favorite things. The detailed, precise shapes and the curving beauty that connects the entire form are truly remarkable. Please try to perceive not only the seemingly sharp and poisonous objects, but also the tenderness and warmth that emerge from the silhouettes created by Sogi.

      Biography

      1977 Born and lives in Osaka
      2016 Began participating in Nanairo Circus Troupe activities once a week

      Solo Exhibition

      2023
      Capacious Exhibition#20: Kazuaki Sogi Solo Exhibition, Calo Bookshop and Cafe, Osaka

      Group Exhibition

      2016
      The World of Art Brut in Japan 3, Borderless Art Museum NO-MA, Shiga

      Reference Website

      https://www.capacious.jp/artists/kazuaki-sogi
    • from "sho-tai" series

      Tachibana Fumio
      • From the "Sho-tai" Series
      • From the "Sho-tai" Series

      1 / 2

      • From the "Sho-tai" Series

        2018
        Ink on paper
        54.5 × 81 cm

      • From the "Sho-tai" Series

        2018
        Ink on paper
        54.8 × 81.5 cm

      Tachibana Fumio

      Tachibana was born into a family running a bookbinding business in Hiroshima, spending his childhood in an environment where text, paper, and printed materials were always present. In recent years, he has become known for experimental works in typography, in addition to creating books. His pieces delve deeply into the fundamental properties of letters, paper, and their textures, pursuing these elements with intense focus.

      The work currently being exhibited is the Sho-tai: Shape of My Shadow series, which was first presented in 2018. The sun-bleached, creased deadstock paper is adorned with ink brushstrokes, forming ambiguous symbols that collectively create the layout of the piece. It also appears as though the long process of the creation of ideographic characters is being shown in reverse. The artist notes the following in his book series:

      I saw a white wall with numerous dark, vertical lines made by falling raindrops, the visible traces of the black rain.
      I saw a rock upon which the shadow of someone who had vanished instantly still vaguely remained.
      I saw a someone with a brush, writing the names of the many people who had died.
      I saw a piece of paper with holes where the black ink had been charred by the strong flash.

      Is the ink that has been applied to paper eternal?
      Does my shadow remain, even after my death?

      Tachibana's works make us reconsider the meaning of primitive actions such as drawing lines, tracing shapes, and writing.

      Biography

      1968 Born in Hiroshima, Currently based in Tokyo and Hiroshima
      1994 MA, Master's degree program at the Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Arts and Music

      Selected Solo Exhibitions

      2022
      IMPRINT/IMPRESS IT’S ONLY A PAPER MOON, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki
      2016
      PLASTIC, The Mass, Tokyo
      2011
      Design Fumio Tachibana, ginza graphic gallery, Tokyo
      2005
      L'arbre qui cachait une Incroyable Forêt, SHISEIDO LA BEAUTÉ, Paris, France
      2001
      Hen-Tai, gallery 360°, Tokyo
      1995
      MADE IN U.S.A., Sagacho Exhibit Space, Tokyo

      Selected Group Exhibitions

      2011
      Kaza Ana Air Hole: another Form of Conseptualism from Asia, The National Museum of Art, Osaka
      2008
      MOT annual 2008: Unraveling and Revealing, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
      1999
      Ten Asian Artists in Residence, Mattress Factory, Pittsburgh, U.S.A.
      1997
      SELECTIONS WINTER '97, The Drawing Center, New York, U.S.A.
    • Loosen Up the Correction #4

      Tanizawa Sawako
      • Loosen Up the Correction #4
      • NO・#3

      1 / 2

      • Loosen Up the Correction #4

        2023
        Acrylic paint on paper, acrylic board, scrap wood from a demolished house
        50 × 35.6 × 3.6 cm

      • NO・#3

        2023
        Acrylic paint on paper, acrylic board, scrap wood from a demolished house
        49 × 37.1 × 4 cm
        (reference artwork)

      Tanizawa Sawako

      Tanizawa creates works that expose societal discomfort by using media and techniques not typically seen in the male-dominated art history, such as paper cutting, stenciling, and ceramics. These works, which focus on themes of gender and feminism, bring attention to issues that were not traditionally addressed in mainstream art practices.

      By using objects that symbolize gender differences and female representations depicted in the past as motifs, the artist folds, crushes, cuts, prints, and adds color, expressing the complex aspects of humanity that cannot be captured in a singular way. Addressing the current situation where people in socially vulnerable positions find it difficult to speak up, the artist conveys strong, short messages such as 'NO,' 'Asshole,' and 'Don't Take It' as a form of protest. The paper, made from recycled packaging paper, and the frames, made from scrap from dismantled buildings, are familiar materials, yet they carry various metaphors, including covering and concealment, as well as the dismantling of the patriarchal system.

      This time, we will exhibit the Haikei Chieko-sama series, which attempts to reinterpret the image of Chieko Takamura (1886-1938), who continued creating paper art even while suffering from mental illness, through the act of reproducing her works. Additionally, we will showcase the Loosen Up the Correction series, named to signify an exercise in understanding the corrections present in everyday life and education.

      The artist says, 'The paper-cutting form is a rich existence that does not require privileged skills or space, possessing both fragility and flexibility.' Paper and handmade crafts, which allow the continuation of creation even in difficult times. Please feel what the works, carefully created with a strong will, convey.

      Biography

      1982 Born in Osaka, Currently based in Kyoto
      2007 MA, Master's course, Department of Painting, Graduate School of Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts

      Recent Solo Exhibitions

      2023
      Loosen Up the Correction, studio J, Osaka
      Touching A Distant Hand, See Saw Gallery＋hibit, Aichi
      Small Voice, Finch Arts, Kyoto
      2022
      Emotionally Sweet Mood, studio J, Osaka
      2021
      Female Image Exercises, kumagusuku SAS, Kyoto

      Recent Group Exhibitions

      2024
      Kawaru Aida no Bijutsu 2024 Premonition to narrate and..., Kagoshima City Tenmonkan Library, Kagoshima
      2022
      VOCA 2022 -The Vision of Contemporary Art-, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo
      Border Crossings: New Perspectives through Works from the Collection and Guest Artists, Kyoto Seika University Gallery Terra-S, Kyoto
      2020
      Rokko Meets Art 2020, Mt.Rokko, Hyogo
      Borderless Area Ohmihachiman Art Festival Town of Perception, Okumura Family Residence, Shiga

      Public Collection

      Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art / Takamatsu Art Museum / Manggha Museum of Japanese Art & Technology (Porland)

      Reference Website

      https://www.tanizawasawako.com/
    • 無題

      Nisato Chikara
      • Untitled
      • Untitled

      1 / 2

      • Untitled

        Circa 2022
        Thread
        approx. 5 × 5 × 5 cm (each)
        Courtesy of Lumbini Art Museum (reference artwork)

      • Untitled

        Circa 2022
        Thread
        approx. 5 × 5 × 5 cm (each)
        Courtesy of Lumbini Art Museum (reference artwork)

      Nisato Chikara

      Nisato repeatedly engages in the task (or Handiwork) of cutting and tying threads day after day. The practice originated during the collaborative production of naturally dyed threads in the studio, where an accident caused the threads to become tangled. As a result, they had to be cut and retied. Nisato grew fond of this act of cutting and retying, which eventually became the focus of his work. Over time, he began secretly cutting and tying even non-tangled threads when the staff weren’t watching. The action he calls ”itokko (threadlings)” has been carried on with official approval from the staff since 2008.

      Nisato, who has poor vision, holds the thread with his rounded fingers, hunching his back as he brings his eyes close to the thread to work. In the warm, sunlit window facing south, he feels the sensation of the thread in his hands as he repeatedly ties and cuts it, creating knot after knot. His posture evokes a sense of reverence, almost as if in prayer.

      A ball of thread with countless knots linked together - it took about a year to complete the first one, and now one is produced every few months. The result of countless hours of intense focus, the finished piece takes the form of a ball of thread with knots that resemble flower petals or even small animals, creating an irresistibly charming sculpture. It is likely that Nisato does not have the conscious intention of creating "art" or giving titles to his works, and all of his pieces remain untitled. The daily, repetitive process itself is a great joy for him.

      Biography

      1968 Born and lives in Iwate
      2007 Began creating artwork at Atelier Mayura at the Lunbini Museum

      Selected Exhibitions

      2024
      The Origin of “ISAI”, Heralbony Gallery, Iwate
      2023
      Material,or, 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT, Tokyo
      2022
      The Symbiosis Art Festival I am a Memory, Kyoto City Museum of Art Annex / Cityzen Plaza Fukuchiyama, Kyoto
      2020
      field⇔work, Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Tokyo
      2014
      The World of Art Brut in Japan, Borderless Art Museum NO-MA, Shiga
      2009
      62nd Iwate Art Festival, Iwate Prefecture Citizens Hall, Iwate (Contemporary Art Division, Excellence Award)

      Reference Website

      https://www.kourinkai.net/museum-lumbi/index.html#07
    • Corn on the cob

      Hirata Yasuhiro
      • Corn on the cob
      • Corn on the cob

      1 / 2

      • Corn on the cob

        2011
        Colored steel nails, acrylic on paper tube
        φ9.3 × 43.3 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Hiko

      • Corn on the cob

        2010-2020
        Brass nails and colored steel nails, acrylic on paper tube
        φ8 × 71.5 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Hiko

      Hirata Yasuhiro

      Hirata was born into a family that ran a construction business and spent his childhood helping out with carpentry work at his father’s workshop. When he first began attending the art studio, he repeatedly painted sideways portraits of people as well as his father’s work tools, such as caulking guns, nails, and paint cans.

      Hirata resumed his intense focus on creating the "corn" sculptures around 2020, when the state of emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic was declared. In recent years, he has incorporated a variety of nails, covering the entire surface of the paper tubes so densely that it is almost completely covered.

      Biography

      1984 Born and lives in Osaka
      1998 Started working at Atelier Hiko in his second year of junior high school, currently works there once a week.

      Solo Exhibition

      2022
      Capacious Exhibition#17: Yasuhiro Hirata Solo Exhibition, Calo Bookshop and Cafe, Osaka

      Selected Group Exhibitions

      2024
      Relationship with Letters, Atelier Hiko and the Three Traditional Japanese Row Houses, Osaka
      2023
      Uppalace ~The Palace of Leisure and Creation~, Atelier Hiko and the Three Traditional Japanese Row Houses, Osaka
      2021
      Outsider Art Fair's Special Exhibition: Super-Rough, Guest curated by Takashi Murakami, SoHo, New York, U.S.A.

      Reference Website

      https://www.capacious.jp/artists/yasuhiro-hirata
    • Untitled

      Hirano Yoshiyasu
      • Untitled
      • In My Brain

      1 / 2

      • Untitled

        2015
        Color gel pen on paper
        77.4 × 54.5 cm
        Courtesy of Yellow

      • In My Brain

        2022
        Acrylic, felt pen, pen on wooden board
        91.2 × 101 cm
        Courtesy of Yellow

      Hirano Yoshiyasu

      Hirano's early works involved drawing animals by repeatedly creating lines of a consistent length, as though using a ruler. Around 2014, a support staff member noticed words hidden within Hirano's drawings. Thinking Hirano might have an interest in text, they handed him a newspaper. Hirano then began extracting words from the newspaper and meticulously filling entire canvases with them.

      Hirano produces beautiful fonts, which initially led to the assumption that he was interested in the shapes of letters. However, as the written characters, in both Japanese and English, conveyed coherent meanings, it came to be understood that he comprehends the meanings of words. The characters Hirano writes are not only extracted from newspapers and magazines but have also gradually evolved to include memorized phrases and words he encounters in daily life through hearing or observation. Additionally, by utilizing the thickness of the pens and the characteristics of ink bleeding during the drawing process, he has fluidly adapted his font style.

      This exhibit displays early Japanese character works created with a fine pigment ballpoint pen, alongside more recent, high-density pieces titled In My Brain, where bold English and Japanese characters intertwine, created with a thick felt-tip pen. Many of Hirano's works are untitled, but In My Brain is the first work for which he personally assigned a title.

      Hirano's works, created with a remarkable sense of form, offer not only a strong visual impact but also a deep appreciation for their playful use of words, embedding text within text in an intricate way that never ceases to captivate. Incorporating newspaper text that reflects current events while intertwining personal family matters, these pieces can be seen as a straightforward expression of a complex and chaotic world.

      Biography

      1980 Born in Aichi, Currently based in Osaka
      2006 Began creating works, from approx. 2009, mainly worked at YELLOW.

      Solo Exhibitions

      2020
      Capacious exhibition#13: Yoshiyasu Hirano Solo Exhibition, Calo Bookshop and Cafe, Osaka
      2018
      Capacious exhibition#07: Yoshiyasu Hirano Solo Exhibition, Calo Bookshop and Cafe, Osaka

      Selected Group Exhibitions

      2024
      Repeat and Accumulate 2 −Sense of Wonder−, Enokojima Art, Culture and Creative Center, Osaka Prefecture [enoco], Osaka
      Five Perspectives, Takashimaya Gallery Next, Osaka
      2018
      Something Like Meaningless, Hajimari Art Center, Fukushima
      2017
      Art Brut? Outsider Art? Or...? -Inherent Creativity-, Eye of GYRE, Tokyo

      Reference Website

      https://www.capacious.jp/artists/yoshiyasu-hirano
    • 翼あるもの『十五少年漂流記』

      Fukuda Naoyo
      • The Winged: Adrift in the Pacific
      • The Winged: Pilgrimage

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      • The Winged: Adrift in the Pacific

        2022
        Book with pages folded-in
        22.4 × 29.3 × 9 cm
        © Naoyo Fukuda Courtesy of Yukiko Koide Presents

      • The Winged: Pilgrimage

        2022
        Book with pages folded-in
        15.3 × 22.5 × 5 cm
        © Naoyo Fukuda Courtesy Yukiko Koide Presents (reference artwork)

      Fukuda Naoyo

      Fukuda creates works by using everyday objects like handkerchiefs and books, as well as stationery items such as erasers and manuscript paper. Through them, she focuses on the relationship between words, text, herself, and the world. She persistently repeats actions such as scraping, folding, cutting out, and embroidering, incorporating chance and unconscious processes into her methods. Through these acts, objects undergo a transformation and emerge as works of art in a new, altered form.

      The series being exhibited, The Winged, draws inspiration from books that Fukuda has cherished since childhood, such as Adrift In The Pacific (Two Years' Vacation) and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. Every page is folded in half, leaving only a single line visible to read from the entire book. She explains:

      “It's often misunderstood, but I’m not actually trying to showcase my favorite passage - in fact, I don’t even know which line will emerge until I actually fold the pages. In the first place, sentences often extend across multiple lines, so regardless of their content, it feels like a miracle to find a neatly contained single line, standing like a flower in a vase, right at the center of the page (in the vertically-printed Japanese-style books). It is precisely because the line suddenly appears as I fold the pages with single-minded focus, as if in prayer, that I am convinced the book has spoken its words to me. In that instant, inspiration strikes, and the book transforms into something with wings—a messenger from the heavens. As time passes, The Winged—each from different eras, lands, and authors—exchange their lines, quietly continuing their new form of communication."

      By listening to the whispers of The Winged, the world we live in today expands in depth and richness.

      Biography

      1967 Born and lives in Saitama
      1992 MA, Master's degree program in Oil Painting, Graduate School of Fine Arts, Tokyo National University of Arts and Music

      Recent Solo Exhibitions

      2024
      Naoyo Fukuda: A Spoonful of Salvation, Kanda & Oliveira, Chiba
      2018
      Naoyo Fukuda: Ghosts, Clouds, or Your Great Spirits over the Mountain, Galerie Omotesando + MUSEÉ F, Tokyo
      2016
      Naoyo Fukuda: Water Pillow, Ice Pillow, SANKI BUNKO, Ishikawa
      Naoyo Fukuda: Whereabout of Words, and Their Presence, Urawa Art Museum, Saitama
      2014
      Naoyo Fukuda: Works from 2001–2013" Exhibition and Book Launch, Yukiko Koide Presents, Tokyo

      Recent Group Exhibitions

      2024
      GEIDAI BIBLIOSCAPE 2024, Book as Object, Tokyo University of the Arts Ueno Library, Tokyo
      2023
      MOT Collection Walking, Traveling, Moving―From the Great Kanto Earthquake to the Present, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, Tokyo
      2022
      Shape of Atmosphere; invisible, formless, and we share, Urawa Art Museum, Saitama
      Journey and Imagination Connecting to the Stories of Others, Tokyo Metropolitan Teien Art Museum, Tokyo
      2020
      Overlapping Circles: 5 Artists Collaborate with the Collection, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Chiba

      Public Collection

      Urawa Art Museum / Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo / Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art / Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art

      Reference Website

      https://sites.google.com/view/fukudanaoyo
    • Untitled

      Fujioka Yuki
      • Untitled
      • Untitled

      1 / 2

      • Untitled

        2006-2009
        Crayon on paper, cutting with scissors
        5.3 × 6.9 cm
        Courtesy of Yukiko Koide Presents (reference artwork)

      • Untitled

        2009-2012
        Paper, cutting with scissors
        8.8 × 13 cm
        Courtesy of Yukiko Koide Presents

      Fujioka Yuki

      Fujioka began creating paper cut artworks at the age of six after receiving a pair of scissors from his grandmother and he has continued this practice every day since. Initially, he created semi-representational paper cut artworks. When Fujioka was a third-year student at the Kumamoto Special Needs School, a curator involved in the Kumamoto City Museum of Contemporary Art's opening exhibition visited the school, which led to his debut museum exhibition at ATTITUDE 2002.

      Fujioka uses everyday materials, such as ordinary office scissors, and paper that can be easily found in daily life, including flyers, origami paper, and copy paper. After Fujioka cuts various papers to a size that feels right to him, typically just a few centimeters in dimension, he begins to make intricate cuts. At the end of the process, he always makes a final diagonal cut indicating he has finished. The paper, cut into strips less than 1mm thick, curls into a spiral shape, and when these spirals are gathered together, they form a unique paper artwork.

      The paper "sculptures," which are created daily by Fujioka, number in the thousands. All of them are carefully preserved by Fujioka's mother.This exhibition showcases a selection of works from 2004 to 2024, carefully curated in chronological order. Though they may appear similar at first glance, each piece differs in the type of paper, size, width of the cuts, and direction in which the scissors are applied.

      The accumulated paper cuttings can thus also be seen as a reflection of the days Fujioka has lived. Take your time to engage closely with each individual piece, or experience the entire body of work as a whole, and see what resonates with you in your own way through Fujioka's works.

      Biography

      1993 Born and lives in Kumamoto
      1999 At age 6, began creating paper cutouts using paper and scissors. By 2002, at age 9, made museum exhibition debut in the ATTITUDE 2002 exhibition.

      Selected Exhibitions

      2023
      Museum with Many Ways to Enjoy! Touch, learn, read listen, play, converse, ponder, create…, Shiga Museum of Art, Shiga
      Material Witness, American Folk Art Museum, New York, USA
      2022
      Genius: The Human Gift for Creating and Living, Shiga Museum of Art, Shiga
      2020
      Art As It Is: Expressions from the Obscure, The University Art Museum of Tokyo University of the Arts, Tokyo
      LIFE, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto
      Open to Surprises, Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Tokyo
      2019
      Thailand and Japan Art Brut - Figure of Unknown Beauty, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, Bangkok, Thailand
      2015
      This is Amazing!, The Museum of Modern Art, Saitama (Travel to Sapporo Art Center, Hokkaido / Museum of Art Warakoh, Kochi / Tomonotsu Museum, Hiroshima)
      2014
      Art Brut Japan Schweiz, Lagerhaus Museum, St.Gallen, Switzerland (Travel to Museum Gugging, Vienna, Austria)
      2002
      The Kumamoto International Art Exhibition ATTITUDE 2002 -One Truth in Your Heart, Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto

      Public Collection

      Shiga Museum of Art / Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto / American Folk Art Museum, New York, U.S.A.

      Reference Website

      https://www.yukikokoide.com/artists-category/01yuki-fujioka/
    • Untitled

      Matsumoto Kunizo
      • Untitled
      • Untitled

      1 / 2

      • Untitled

        2020
        Ink on calendar
        Approx. 26 × 19.4 cm / each × 12 sheets
        Courtesy of Atelier Hiko & Yukiko Koide Presents

      • Untitled

        2004
        Ink on paper
        14.9 × 10.4 cm
        Courtesy of Atelier Hiko & Yukiko Koide Presents

      Matsumoto Kunizo

      Matsumoto creates works by densely layering his distinctive writing on items like calendars, notebooks, and letters. The characters featured in his works are closely tied to the environment in which he grew up. Among these, kanji characters such as "舞" (dance), "男" (man), "女" (woman), "鬼" (demon), "火" (fire), and "命" (life) appear repeatedly. The origins of Matsumoto's style can be traced back to his exposure to Kabuki theater at the age of three. He later learned calligraphy at school and in institutions, and his foundational skills were further developed through self-study by copying characters. Additionally, his family ran a Chinese restaurant, and he was responsible for picking up three daily newspapers for the business every morning. It seems that, by observing the headlines and the size of photographs in newspapers, he developed a unique sense of associating kanji with meaning, while also sensing the significance of social events.

      Matsumoto began writing on calendars around 1997. Initially, he would fill in the small spaces on a calendar, which was posted on the refrigerator, with fine text over the entries his mother had written for each month. Since the sudden passing of his loving father in 2002, he began writing on daily calendars as well. After the passing of his father, he would write obsessively late into the night at home, almost as if possessed by the act of writing itself. The works created in the daily calendar became his lifelong project. This continued until the late autumn of 2020, when he was hospitalized due to a serious case of aspiration pneumonia, compounded by an infection from COVID-19.

      The calendar works on display at this time are from two distinct periods: one from the period around 2016, when the family’s Chinese restaurant closed and the artist moved to his brother’s house, and the other from 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he continued to create. The works written on memo paper are from the period immediately following his father's sudden passing.

      While looking at the paper that was used, the smudged stains, and the traces of the written characters, please try to imagine the events that the artist experienced in his life.

      Biography

      1962 Born and lives in Osaka
      1995 Started attending Atelier Hiko about twice a week to create artworks and go on field trips while also helping out at his family's Chinese restaurant from 1988 to 2016.

      Solo Exhibitions

      2007
      Galerie Susanne Zander, Cologne, Germany
      Obsessed with Letters, Yukiko Koide Presents, Tokyo (also 2004)

      Recent Group Exhibitions

      2024
      Relationship with Letters, Atelier Hiko and the Three Traditional Japanese Row Houses, Osaka
      2022
      Do the Write Thing: read between the lines #3, Christian Berst, Paris, France
      2021
      Letters -Tangling Unraveling-, Tokyo Shibuya Koen-dori Gallery, Tokyo
      2020
      Scrivere Disegnando, When language Seeks Its Other, Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva, Switzerland
      2018
      Do the Write Thing: read between the lines #2, Christian Berst, Paris, France
      2016-2017
      The Museum of Everything Exhibition #7, Museum of Old and New Art, Tasmania, Australia
      2015
      Art Brut Live: Collection abcd / Bruno Decharme, DOX Center for Contemporary Art, Prague, Czech Republic
      2014-2015
      Art Brut Live: Collection abcd / Bruno Decharme, La Maison Rouge, Paris, France

      Public Collection

      Collection de l'Art Brut (Switzerland) / The Museum of Everything (U.K.) / Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Pompidou (France)

      Reference Website

      https://www.yukikokoide.com/artists-category/03kunizo-matsumoto/
    • contour map# sandy beach (dry) [作品部分]

      Morimoto Eri
      • contour map# sandy beach (dry) [Detail]
      • (left) contour map# humidity-blue-grey/edge(B2-②)-memo (right) contour map# humidity-blue-grey/edge(B2-②)

      1 / 2

      • contour map# sandy beach (dry) [Detail]

        2023
        Acrylic on cotton cloth covered panel (56,300 dots)
        41 × 41 cm
        Courtesy of Gallery Yamaki Fine Art

      • (left)

        contour map# humidity-blue-grey/edge(B2-②)-memo

        2022
        Pencil on paper, frame
        51.5 × 36.4 cm

        (right)

        contour map# humidity-blue-grey/edge(B2-②)

        2022
        Acrylic on cotton cloth covered panel (176,300 dots)
        72.8 × 51.5 cm
        Courtesy of Gallery Yamaki Fine Art

      Morimoto Eri

      Morimoto creates paintings and sculptures using a systematic method based on specific rules. It gives a complex impression, as if emotions and sentiments have been eliminated, but in reality, it is a record of deeply personal sensations and actions. The artist says that she is strongly drawn to fractal patterns, boundaries, and net-like structures. She separates concrete sensations like humidity, the scent of the environment, and the joy of looking at beautiful plants and landscapes, reconfiguring them into artwork through her unique filter.

      The series of flat works titled contour map is based on landscapes that the artist found compelling. These landscapes are deconstructed into dots of various colors and sizes, and after calculating the dimensions, the artist then places these dots on the canvas according to a predetermined plan, creating the final piece. The paired "memo" serves as a manual documenting the production process (which the artist refers to as a "recipe"). It details the number of dots for each color and the process of placing them, with each unit of the cross-shaped pattern representing 100 dots.
      The artwork titled percolation, consisting of paper pieces, is a series that has been ongoing for 40 years. Since the age of four or five, Morimoto began cutting paper into small pieces with scissors, continuing this practice almost as a ritual without showing it to anyone. After completing graduate school, she gained recognition by presenting a video installation of paper cutting, and since then, she has refined this practice into her life’s work.

      The act of placing perfect circles at uniform millimeter intervals and cutting paper pieces to the smallest recognizable size involves techniques and methods that are incredibly difficult. Morimoto says that although following this process involves physical pain, it is mentally peaceful and fulfilling; like an athlete who trains daily to develop remarkable strength, she sharpens her senses by repeatedly performing the same actions, thereby creating entirely new visual experiences.

      Biography

      1978 Born and lives in Osaka
      2003 MA, Master's course, Department of Painting, Graduate School of Arts, Kyoto City University of Arts

      Selected Solo Exhibitions

      2024
      Contour Map♯ -from the beginning-, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Hyogo
      2020
      Conversion by Example, SAI Gallery, Osaka
      2007
      Eri Morimoto, SAI Gallery, Osaka (also 2010 and 2022)
      2004
      CRITERIUM 58, Art Tower Mito, Ibaraki
      2002
      The Time of Blooming, Gallery 16, Kyoto

      Selected Group Exhibitions

      2024
      Here and There and Back Again, Japanese Art 1964 – 2024, Nicolas Krupp Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
      2023
      ABSTRACTION ‐The Possibilities of Painting‐, Gallery Yamaki Fine Art, Hyogo
      2012
      Art Picnic vol.2 breathing art, Ashiya City Museum of Art and History, Hyogo
      2008
      VOCA 2008 The Vision of Contemporary Art-, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo
      2003
      Kobe Art Annual 2003 Grip the Gap, Kobe Art Village Center, Hyogo

      Reference Website

      https://gyfa.co.jp/artist/eri-morimoto.html

    Related Event

    Let's Talk: A Conversational Program For Art Appreciation (Japanese language only)

    This is an interactive viewing program designed for everyone. Please come join the conversation with us!

    Date

    January 26 (Sun), 2025, 10:00−11:15 (Doors open: 9:50−)

    Facilitator NPO Arts and Resources Development Agency (ARDA)
    Capacity 16 (two groups of eight people) *Registration is required.
    Recommended
    age    		 Approximately elementary school age and up (children under elementary school age must be accompanied by a guardian).
    Registration Please register via the registration form.
    Registration Form

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    Spiral Garden (Spiral 1F)

    5-6-23 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062 Japan

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